Plate-holder.



UNITED STATES Patented January 24, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

PLATE-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,649, dated January24, 1905.

Application filed May 27,1904. Serial No. 210,116.

To all whmn it natty concern:

Be it known that I, SILAs FRENCH, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plate-I-Iolders, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to plate-holders and means for adapting them tocameras.

The invention consists in the devices and combinations hereinafter setforth and clalnied.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a plate-holder embodyingthis invention, parts being broken away to show internal constructionand certain parts being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of the deviceshown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the adapter.

This plate-holder has the usual side rails l 1, septum 2, and slides 3.The lower rail 4: has a socket 5 cut in it, in which rests a flat spring6. Above the spring is the plate-retainer 7, adapted to tilt on thepivots 8 8, which extend into loose bearings or slots 9 9 in the siderails 1. The plate-retainer has two flat sides 10 and 11, Fig. 2, whichare adapted to press upon the flat spring 6 and to be held thereby ineither of the two tilted positions of the plate retainer. The saidplate-retainer has also a flange 12, which is adapted to lie flatagainst the front surface of the plate 13, adjacent to its lower edge,when the retainer is tilted into the position shown at the left hand inFig. 2. The plate-retainer may be of U shape in cross-section, with oneflange longer than the other. By this construction the pivot-pins 8 8may be fastened in the curve of the retainer and the shorter flange 12may force the plate out of its retained position when the retainer istilted into the position shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 2.

The top rail 14 of the plate-holder has the usual slots 15 for theslides 3 when the plateholder is double, as shown herein. The lower edgeof the rail 4 has, adjacent to the septum 2, a rabbet or groove 16 forthe upper edge of the plate 13. The retainer 7 is tilted into theposition shown at the right hand in Fig. 2, and the upper edge of theplate is put into the groove 16 and over the flange 12 of theplate-retainer. The plate-retainer is then tilted into the positionshown at the left hand in Fig. 2 and the pressure of the spring 6against the flat side 10 of the retainer holds it in position, so thatthe flange 12 holds the lower edge of the plate, while the groove 16holds the upper edge, and the lower edge of the plate is or may besupported on the narrow flange 12.

Shaking and jarring of the plate-holder cannot release the plate.Further, the fact that the pins and pivots 8 move in slots 9 in therails 1 enables the plate-retainer to take plates of slightly-varyinglength.

In the better class of plate-holders a lightexcluding shutter isemployed to prevent light from leaking in upon the plate through theslot by which the slide is inserted into the plate-holder to cover theplate.

The improved light-excluding shutter of this device consists of asheetof metal 17 having the two longitudinal ribs 18 19, thedownwardly-turned or rounded edge 20, and the flat edge 21. The shutter17 lies in a cavity 22 in the upper rail 14L, and the flat edge 21 liesloosely in a groove 23, whereby the shutter 17 may turn from the flatedge 21 as a pivot, but with some freedom by reason of the looseness ofsaid edge in the groove 21. One or more springs 23 tend to press theshutter 17 outward to press against the slide 3 or against the innerside of the cavity 22 and across the slot 15. In the double plate-holderherein shown the springs 23 lie in holes 2 1, drilled through the upperrail 1a, and the opposite ends of the springs 23 press against the twoshutters.

Over the cavities 22 are metallic covers 25, fastened to theplate-holder in any suitable way, such as by turning the ends of saidcover 25 around the ends of the rail 14: and again bending said ends, asat 26, Fig. 3, to rest in sockets in the edges of the upper rail. Thecover 25 has an inwardly-projeeting rib 27, which corresponds to thedepression between the ribs 18 and 19 of the shutter 17, so that whenthe shutter is pressed outward by the spring the rib 27 lies between theribs 18 and 19, as shown in Fig. 2. The flat edge 23 of the shutter 17is the upper edge, as shown in Fig. 2. If new the slide 3 is insertedthrough the slot 16, it will press against the shutter 17 and force itback from the right-hand position of Fig. 2 into the left-hand positionof said figure and the inner side of the slide is in contact with bothribs 18 and 19 of the shutter 17, so that there are two surfaces of theshutter in contact with two portions of the surfaces of the slide andlight cannotfilter through into the plate-cavity of the plate-holder.The shutter 17 may be made of very thin metal, so as to be slightlyflexible, and thus to fit better against the slide.

Camera-backs are made of practically uniform sizes; but plate-holdersare of numerous different forms. In order to adapt any camera to myplate-holder, I provide a thin metallic frame 28, (shown in Fig. 1,)having the center punched out and the edges 29 of the center openingturned down to form a frame, which is adapted to fit into the back ofany camera of the size for which the adapter is intended. Three of theouter edges 30 of said frame 28 are turned up, and across that portionof the frame corresponding to the fourth edge is a rib 31, correspondingin position to a groove in the cover 25 of my plate-holder, which is, infaet,the back of the rib 27,above mentioned.

Inasmuch as the downwardly-turned edges 29 will lit in any camera-backof the standard size for which the adapter is intended, my plate-holdermay be adapted to any camera of that size, and the downwardly-turnededges of the frame 28, in combination with the upwardly-turned edgesthereof and the rib 31, constitute a perfect light-tight connectionbetween the plate-holder and the camera. Of course the usual devices(not shown) are employed for holding the plate-holder against thecamera-back 32.

IVhat I claim is 1. In a plate-holder, the combination of a frame havingholding means for one edge of the plate, a slide therefor, and a tiltingspringheld retainer for the other end of the plate pivoted in the siderails of the frame.

2. In a plateholder, the combination of a frame having holding means forone edge of the plate, a slide, a retainer for the other end of theplate pivoted in loose hearings in the side rails of the frame, and aspring for pressing said holder toward the plate.

3. In a plate-holder, the combination of a frame having holding meansfor one edge of the plate, a slide, a tilting retainer for the other endof the plate having two flat sides and pivoted in the side rails of theframe and a spring for pressing against said two flat sides forretaining the holder in two positions.

1. In a plate-holder, the combination of a frame having holding meansfor one edge of the plate, a slide, a tilting retainer for the other endof the plate having two fiat sides and pivoted in loose bearings in theside rails of the frame, and a spring for pressing against said two flatsides for retaining the holder in two positions.

5. In a plate-holder, the combination of a frame having holding meansfor one edge of the plate, a slide, a tilting retainer for the other endof the plate, and pivoted in the side rails of the frame, and having aflange which when the holder is tilted presses against the front of theplate adjacent to itsf edge, and a portion which when the holder istilted into a second position moves that edge of the plate outward.

6. In a plate-holder, the combination of a frame having holding meansfor one edge of the plate, a slide, a tilting retainer for the other endof the plate and pivoted in the side rails of the frame and having aflange which when the retainer is tilted presses against the front ofthe plate adjacent to its edge, a portion which when the retainer istilted into a second position moves that edge of the plate outward, andmeans for holding said tilted retainer in either of said two positions.

7. In a plate-holder, the combination of a frame having holding meansfor one edge of the plate, a slide, a tilting retainer for the other endof the plate and pivoted in the side rails of the frame and having aflange which when the retainer is tilted presses against the front ofthe plate adjacent to its edge and a portion which when the retainer istilted into a second position moves that end of the plate outward, saidretainer having two flat sides, and a spring for pressing against eitherof said two flat sides and for retaining the retainer in either of saidtwo positions.

8. In a plate-holder, the combination of a plate-holder frame having agroove along and parallel to one end, an adapter consisting of thinmetal having three edges turned up in which said frame fits, and a ribfitting into the said groove when the frame is in place, anddownwardly-turned edges adapted to lit in a standard camera-back.

9. In a plate-holder, having an end rail provided with a slot for theplate-holder slide and a longitudinal groove, a light-excluding shutterconsisting of a metallic plate having a flat edge set loosely in thegroove in said end rail and two ribs adapted to rest against l'IO saidslide, and a spring adapted to throw said shutter.,

10. In a plate-holder having an end rail and a slot therein for theplate-holder slide and a cavity across said end rail, a cover for saidcavity having an inwardly-projecting rib, a light-excluding shutterhaving a curved edge, two ribs and a flat edge adapted to fit in agroove in the end rail in said cavity, and a spring for throwing saidshutter whereby TO the rib of the cover fits between the two ribs on theshutter.

SILAS FRENCH. Witnesses:

l). GURNEE, L. THoN.

